CRWR 200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Claustrophobia
Document Summary
If your character has a unique way of seeing the world or a particular way of speaking, first person might be the better choice. Idiosyncrasies in voice or thought often resonate with the reader: reader intimacy, reader identification with the protagonist-seeing the world from inside the character"s head. Limited perspective: protagonist has to do all the heavy lifting, voice claustrophobia, reader may not identify with protagonist. Advantages: allows the reader to experience it as if it"s their own, a sense of participation on the part of the reader, a sense of freshness because it"s less common. Disadvantages: a sense of discomfort for the reader, can be stifling, voice claustrophobia. Limited: the narrator can see (report) events objectively & has access to the minds of a single character.